Album Reviews

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    Hackneyed – Carnival Cadavre (2011)

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    Now on Lifeforce Records, Hackneyed is one of the most promising German Death Metal bands in the last few years. “Carnival Cadavre” marks the band’s third release and shows a great deal of maturity when it comes to writing catchy songs that make you want to start headbanging since the first few seconds. We all know that most DM is almost devoid of creativity, but Hackneyed manage to make the predictable and ‘traditional’ very enjoyable.

    After the intro section of “Raze the Curtain” the band explodes into full on chugging DM riffs and vicious growls, this section made us start bobbing our heads up and down since literally the first riffs of the album. “Bugging for Mercy” keeps the groove going and delivers powerful guitars, elaborate drumming, and very interesting slowdowns. The catchiness level is very effective and after two songs this album got us hooked.

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    So Hideous, My Love… - To Clasp a Fallen Wish with Broken Fingers (2011)

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    As one of the most interesting albums we have received this summer, So Hideous, My Love’s debut EP “To Clasp a Fallen Wish with Broken Fingers” delivers one of the best Post-Black Metal releases we have ever heard from the USA. With four crushing sounds, this EP will surely get the band some attention and build momentum for their hopefully soon return with a full-length release.

    The second element that makes this band so interesting is the combination of classical music elements with Post-Black Metal. While this has been done in virtually all other genres of Metal, it sounds very well crafted and perfectly fitting for Post-Black Metal of this caliber. The instrumentation comes as the stronger element of the band’s sound and quickly allows the listener to shift their attention away from the sub par vocals.

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    MaYaN – Quarterpast (2011)

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    MaYaN is Epica’s mastermind Mark Jansen latest creation and with this band he expects to fulfill other creative needs he has outside of Epica. This band in paper has a very impressive line-up since for the CD recording we had Jeroen Paul Thesseling on bass guitar, Frank Schiphorst and Isaac Delahaye on guitars as well as many guest appearances by Simon Simons, Floor Jansen and Henning Basse.

    If you are expecting another Epica / (early) After Forever album, please stay away from this release since Quarterpast is considerably different to what you have heard before. This release is more focused on progressive Death Metal sections with some symphonic elements, tons of diverse vocal lines, and some orchestral elements (very few). We also want to warn the listener that this release is definitely a grower, since it needs more than your average number of listens to fully be digested due to the richness of the music.

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    Mortualia – Mortualia (2011)

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    Shatraugh is without a doubt one of Black Metal’s most productive and decadent minds to ever hail from Finland. With his countless bands (Horna, Sargeist, etc) and different projects, it’s very hard to believe that in each one we are treated to an even more raw and primitive side of his inner psyche.  With Mortualia, Shatraugh delivers some of the most raw and crushing Black Metal assaults ever laid down on record.

    Originally released back in 2007, Moribund is kind (or evil) enough to make this true gem available to all fans of desolate and disarming Black Metal. Clocking in at 77 minutes (70 minutes of the original release plus a 7 minute bonus track), this album offers the listener quite an obscure and decadent journey into the bowels of hell.

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    Stream of Passion – Darker Days (2011)

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    The super talented Marcela Bovio returns with another outstanding Stream of Passion release. “Darker Days” as the title mentions, has a darker and more bombastic feeling than the band’s previous effort. This release shows a much more compact and well integrated band than the previous release as all 13 tracks are beautifully composed.

    Never selling out, Stream of Passion has not dared to go into the more profitable (and popular) ‘Pop Metal’ realms, and with “Darker Days” they will surely establish themselves as one of the premiere Gothic Metal bands. With the emotional opener “Lost”, you quickly know this album will surely be a great trip. This song presents nice arrangements, hefty doses of powerful guitar riffs and (of course) beautiful vocals.

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    Draconian – A Rose for the Apokalypse (2011)

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    After a few years of the release of “Turning Season Within”, Draconian finally makes their return with another crushing release: “A Rose for the Apokalypse”. With a considerable increase in maturity, the band crafts 10 tracks of the best Gothic Doom Metal in the scene. It is highly un-likely that any other band will rival the quality of this release in 2011.

    Always characterized by the ‘beauty and the beast’-style vocal struggle between Anders Jacobsson and Lisa Johansson, the band builds up on their depressive sound and adds extra elements that make this release even more punishing and beautiful. With a powerful opening, “The Drowning Age” delivers the first blow of brilliance presented in this release. As the song progresses it nicely mellows to clean/harsh/female vocals and engaging guitar riffing.

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    Katanga – Moonchild (2011)

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    In the very weird shit category today we have Katanga and their album “Moonchild”. The band plays Gothic Metal with some Electronic/Industrial elements. The first thing to notice is the typical singing/spoken German vocals. The use of electronic elements is pretty cool through this release, making it very catchy.

    The opening track “Marquis De Sade”, crafts a very psycho-sexual atmosphere and it serves as a great appetizer for this very diverse and interesting release. “Gottlos” delivers catchiness with powerful guitar riffs and catchy electronics surrounded by strong German singing. The ultra catchy “Moerder Der Erinnerung” draws similarities to Letzte Instanz, and with the added female vocals achieves very nice contrasts between the singing parts.

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    To Cast a Shadow - In Memory of (2011)

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    In the slow and painfully good category today we have To Cast a Shadow and their Doom album “In Memory of”. It has been quite a while since a band has managed to capture the emptiness and bleakness of Death/Gothic Doom Metal, but luckily To Cast a Shadow has given us 10 tracks of emotional music.

    Hailing from Norway, this band delivers a very simple yet effective approach to the genre and with angelic female vocals creates a very powerful atmosphere. Traditional Doom Metal riffs open “Tormented” and all is good until you get the male vocals, to be brutally honest… they suck, but the female vocals greatly make up for this in the rest of the song.

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    Euphoreon – Euphoreon (2011)

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    After their very impressive demo “Before the Blackened Sky”, Euphoreon returns with their crushing self-released and self-titled debut album. All fans of (old) Children of Bodom, Moonsorrow, Turisas, and similar should be keeping an eye out for this very well produced album.

    Featuring re-vamped versions of the three songs presented in the demo, this new release adds five more tracks of brilliant musicianship and excellent combination of elements that have made the previously mentioned bands very successful. The song “Before the Blackened Sky” shows the wide palette of influences the band has and it also gives a very nice intro of what is to come in this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Cold Northern Vengeance - Trial by Ice 2002 – 2010 (2010)

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    Today we have the Cold Northern Vengeance… of the USA? With such a powerful name we expected them to be from Norway or somewhere really up North. Anyways, “Trial by Ice” showcases the transformation of this very promising USBM band and how their sound have evolved over the years from the traditional kvlt Black Metal to some more refined and stylish pieces. If you never heard of this band, you can be caught up with them by the time this 70 minute release is over.

    After the traditional filler intro track, “Acausal” shows a very strong Black Metal influence that incorporates different tempo changes. This makes the song a nice departure of the traditional BM crap we are used to reviewing. The band goes a bit more extreme with the denser “Black Metal Isolation III”. This track features a different sound than the previous one but still creates an eerie atmosphere. The vocals, guitars, and drums are very well crafted for this song.

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